The present invention relates in general to gravesite markers or what might be referred to as gravestones, headstones, or monuments. More specifically, the present invention relates to the design and construction of a temporary gravesite marker which can be styled to simulate the final or permanent gravestone which will be used to mark and identify the grave.
The death of a loved one can come suddenly and unexpectedly, causing the family to hurriedly put funeral arrangements together. One of the decisions to be made, in many cases, is the selection and styling of a permanent gravestone. Even if the passing of a loved one is anticipated, such as when the individual is suffering from a long illness, funeral arrangements are not necessarily made in advance. Further, even if a gravestone style and informational content can be selected and decided upon fairly quickly, the final cutting, designing and stenciling may take weeks to complete. Some of the delay may be due to the time required and the simple backlog of earlier orders. The completion of the gravestone work may also be affected by what a particular cemetery or monument company has in stock as far as gravestone materials, colors, shapes, sizes, etc. Even if the desired gravestone is in stock, the addition of designs and letter etching or stenciling must still be done and this can take weeks to complete.
In order to address the problem of such time delays in having the final, permanent gravestone for a gravesite, cemeteries typically create what could best be described as a fairly crude, temporary gravesite marker. Such temporary markers may be nothing more than a small metal frame which receives selectively arranged letter tiles in order to spell out the surname of the deceased. These temporary markers, which are relatively thin (one-half (½) to one and one-half (1½) inches), are placed on the ground adjacent the gravesite. By limiting the overall thickness of these temporary markers such that their height above ground level is roughly one (1) inch, it allows the grounds crews or maintenance crews at the cemetery, when mowing the grass, to be able to run the lawnmower directly over the marker. While such temporary markers are not intended in any way to be disrespectful to the deceased, they are certainly not what would be considered pleasing in appearance or matching the style and presentation of the permanent gravestone to be positioned at a later time. No doubt to some family members these temporary metal gravesite markers, with their movable and replaceable letter tiles, can be depressing and to others these temporary markers may seem to trivialize the life and accomplishments of the deceased.
Consider for a moment the handling of a death by a funeral home, church, synagogue, etc. There is usually a great deal of attention paid to all of the details with some degree of pomp and circumstance to the proceedings, with attention to virtually every detail in a way that is intended to make the family of the deceased pleased with the treatment of their loved one and pleased with the respect which is being shown by the proceedings. At the end of this process, after the loved one is laid to rest, there is the placement of the permanent gravestone at the gravesite in the cemetery. Professionally cut, crafted, stenciled, and polished, all to the exact specifications and choices of the family, there is here as well an impressive presentation reflective of the life and accomplishments of the deceased.
What about the few weeks in between? What about the time following the funeral and prior to the time that the permanent gravestone is ready to be positioned? What respect is shown to the deceased in identifying and marking the gravesite as the final resting place? All that the gravesite receives for these few weeks is a reusable metal frame which may be rusty and which may have been reused hundreds of times and includes merely temporary and replaceable letter tiles which are also reused hundreds of times.
Having considered all of these issues, it was felt by the present inventors that something more for the deceased was in order, something which would balance and complement the pomp and circumstance of a professionally handled funeral and the placement of the permanent gravestone at the gravesite. What was desired was to replace the current style of temporary gravesite marker with something more lasting and respectful of the deceased. This desire on the part of the present inventors resulted in the conception of the present invention which is described and claimed herein. While the present invention is still a temporary marker, it includes permanent aspects, such as the lasting quality and durability of the materials which can be selected, the etching of the lettering, the size and the weight. It was decided to style the gravesite marker according to the present invention as a permanent keepsake for the family to keep once the permanent gravestone is ready.
The present invention provides a small replica of the permanent gravestone as far as the lettering, including font and content, albeit scaled down in size, as well as the overall arrangement of the lettering and the length-to-height aspect ratio. The selected material which is used is one which is permanent and lasting. The marker is smaller and light enough (less than sixteen (16) pounds) to be considered portable. Its preferred thickness is one (1) inch so that this temporary gravesite marker can be laid on the ground and will clear the lawnmower blades as the lawnmower runs over the marker. When the permanent gravestone is ready, the temporary gravesite marker of the present invention is presented to the family as a permanent keepsake.
The technology for the present invention has been available for years and the drawbacks with current temporary (metal) markers have been around even longer. Even with all of this, nothing similar to the present invention was ever envisioned, until now.